Its the recording stupid!!

Oh dear, another one of those  subjects.

Since I don't a have a tape copy off the master I can play on a Studer, I settle for my AB1006. It had to be sifted thru a few other $3-5 bin buys. A stamper within a $20-30 process. Ridiculous? Yes, when "the one" is found, your speakers do all that audiophile baloney.

Aja? umm....well alright. I default to the first 3.

Best to just absorb the music.

Some recordings just plain sound better than others. Bottom line. I now find really poor recording hard to listen to. I get what the OP is saying. But I know it is not my system. I have certain high quality recordings that I play sometimes to remind myself just how good my system sounds.....tom me.